Her name is Charlene Washington.

Washington, 77, of Fort Dodge, is one of five people whose images are painted on the 110-foot-tall silo. According to artist Guido van Helten, the images are representative of “shared community values and history.”

History is major part of Washington’s legacy to Fort Dodge. She was instrumental in bringing Black history to the community in the 1960s. In the 1970s, she started a movement to bring Black teachers to Fort Dodge schools.

“I came from the south where we studied American history, but my history teacher knew how to incorporate Black history into our classes,” Washington said. “That way we knew we were valuable people also.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Charlene Washington, of Fort Dodge, poses at her home in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood. Washington, a longtime advocate for Black history and equality, is featured on the Fort Dodge Grain Silo Mural along Hawkeye Avenue.

Washington moved to Fort Dodge in 1964 from Lauderdale, Mississippi. She was the seventh child of 11.

She is the granddaughter of a white plantation worker and a Black housekeeper.

Growing up in Mississippi, Washington worked as a housekeeper for $1.50 a day. Later, she picked cotton, receiving $2 per 100 pounds. She typically picked about 300 pounds daily.

Her family would live off of what they picked and the rest of the crop was stored in a crib.

She was brought up in a small house with wooden windows. All the females slept together in one room, while the males slept together in another.

Her family placed a great emphasis on history.

“I grew up thinking that it was a demand to know something about the Bible and about your history because change was going to come and you need to be able to recognize it when it happens,” Washington said.

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It wasn’t long after Washington moved to Fort Dodge that she began to spread the word of Black history.

“I found that children here didn’t know anything about Black history, so I saw the need to stay here and see that they would learn something about Black history,” Washington said.

She studied child psychology at Iowa Central Community College. Later she taught parent education through the Urban Ministry program.

Washington served on the advisory committee appointed by then-Superintendent of Schools Earl Berge when the closing of Pleasant Valley School was debated in 1972.

Over half of the students were Black and the issue under discussion was the closing of the school and the busing of the area’s students to other elementary schools in the district.

At the time, Washington was against the closure, but said she thinks it was for the best as it resulted in beneficial integration of white and Black children.

Washington was ethnic school coordinator in the 1970s. She resigned from that position in 1977. It was that same year Washington organized a movement to bring Black teachers to Fort Dodge.

“When we got done, the superintendent got us five Black teachers in here to teach,” Washington recalled. “We had five Black teachers come and teach in the school system. I reached a goal. That was one of my goals in life.”

Judge Brown was one Black teacher who found himself in Fort Dodge in the late 1970s. He taught social studies in the Fort Dodge Community School District from 1977 to 1986.

“I know her as a genuinely good person and she has a special ability to help people,” Brown said of Washington.

Washington scored her first interview with The Messenger in 1986 with then-Editor Walt Stevens. The article published on Feb. 16 during Black History Month.

It was also in 1986 that Washington was named Ms. Community. The honor was presented by Bishop Leroy Johnson, of Calvary Memorial Church of God in Christ.

Washington has since compiled four Black history books on Fort Dodge. The books were published in 1999, 2000, 2003 and 2012.

“I feel like I have reached my goal, finished my course of Black history because this is something I could not get through the head of anybody when I came here,” Washington recalled. “They didn’t believe me about Black history, but now they know it as a fact.”

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Washington lives in the same house in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood that she moved into in the 1960s. There, she has an extensive collection of books, articles, notes and photos pertaining to Black history and Black history in Fort Dodge.

Harry C. Meriwether is just one of many people highlighted in Washington’s collection. Meriwether was a Navy veteran of World War I and World War II who owned Harry’s Chicken Shack in Fort Dodge. The park just down the street from Washington’s house bears Meriwether’s name.

Washington worked as a nurse’s assistant at various facilities before working in production at Fort Dodge Animal Health for 24 years.

Her husband, Willie, was a longtime employee of the George A. Hormel Co. plant.

Together they had three children: Tommy, Sherry and Murphy.

Washington has been an active member of Second Baptist Church. She served as a musician in the church choir.

The Rev. Joseph Presswood, a former pastor at the church, describes Washington as a friend.

“She’s an intelligent woman,” Presswood said. “She’s a nice woman. Ever since I’ve known her we’ve been good friends. She would lead the choir. She was a good leader in the church. Anything needed done in church, she’d do it.”

Sharon Naylor, of Fort Dodge, grew up in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood near Washington. She went to school with her children and eventually married one of Washington’s nephews. Naylor and Washington have been part of the same church community for 30 years.

“She’s definitely a pillar in our family and in our community,” Naylor said. “A traditional mother figure. Loving, caring about everyone in the community.”

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Washington is proud to be represented on the silo, which was completed in December of 2018.

“I feel deeply honored to be chosen to have my picture on the silo,” Washington said. “My family is proud of me and the growth of Fort Dodge.”

She added, “I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the participants that made it possible for me to be a part of Fort Dodge including the city planning staff, Fort Dodge Fine Arts Assocation, the image committee of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance and the staff from the Blanden Memorial Art Museum. I feel extremely grateful to know that this is part of Fort Dodge.”

Dr. Terry Moehnke, Fort Dodge Ward 1 city councilman, believes Washington was a fine choice for the silo project.

“She has been a fixture for years,” said Moehnke, who is also a member of the Pleasant Valley Awareness Committee. “She’s very knowledgeable about Black history.

“She has been kind of a mother figure. We are very proud to have her as part of the silo. People look up to her. They respect her actions and intervention. When she gets involved in something, she’s very passionate about it. She’s been a great asset to the community for years and people enjoy having her around.”

The silo is very meaningful to Washington.

“I said, ‘If they put me up there that means you did something to let them know you are a worthwhile person,'” Washington said. “I felt, ‘Hey, I am worth something to Fort Dodge. I helped get Black teachers here to represent our Black children. This person has done something to be represented for Fort Dodge as a Black person.'”

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